This disclosure relates to systems and methods for managing oil and gas fields. In particular, the invention relates to computer-aided lean management (“CALM”) of hydrocarbon production from oil and gas fields or subsurface reservoirs.
Computer-aided management techniques have been beneficially used to increase efficiencies in complex product manufacturing enterprises such as aircraft manufacturing. Computer-aided lean management (CALM) techniques involve a feedback loop between actions taken on the production floor and the return of metrics that score the success or failure of those actions.
In the context of hydrocarbon resources, an “e-Field” is an integrated asset model of the physical equipment and electronic infrastructure, for real-time remote monitoring and control of gas, oil, and water production in ultra deepwater and unconventional gas fields. See, e.g., Thomas et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,266,619 (“Thomas”).
The tracking of fluid drainage over time (called “4D”) is a modern development aimed at improving reservoir monitoring. 4D has introduced several powerful new observational tools into the development engineering arsenal, such as time-lapse seismic differencing, fiber-optic monitoring arrays in casing, and downhole sensors of many types.
This 4D application holds great promise as the keystone of a new, integrated reservoir management strategy that is able to image changes not only within a reservoir but also within the stack of reservoirs that make up most of the oil and gas fields of the world today.
Yet the industry is only just developing the controller logic for many components of 4D monitoring. For example, 4D seismic monitoring is still centered on reacquisition using 3D methodologies that are hard to reproduce or duplicate exactly. Consequently, field operators concentrate on seismic reprocessing and reinterpretation, instead of the differencing of time-lapse data itself.
In addition, conventional seismic modeling is 1D and 2D, rather than 3D like the earth. Further, seismic modeling is usually acoustic rather than elastic, which is more expensive. To add to the simplification, seismic modeling analysis is built around one reservoir at a time, instead of the system of stacked reservoirs as an integrated whole.
Anderson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,826,483, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein, describes a 4D system and method for managing and optimizing data handling and analysis over a period of time relative to a characterization of the state, location, and quantity of fluids within a subterranean petroleum reservoir. The system and method are based on a networked operating framework (“OF”) that sources, then integrates, multi-vendor scientific, business, and engineering applications and data sets. The OF manages, versions (i.e. times), and coordinates execution of multiple applications. It handles the trafficking of data between applications; updates geospatially aligned earth and reservoir models; and orchestrates the outcomes through optimization loops. The OF infrastructure (referred to herein as a “middleware framework”) allows for very large volume data sets to be configured and efficiently transported among disparate geological, geophysical, and engineering software applications, the looping through of which is required to determine accurately the location over time of the oil and gas within the reservoir relative to the surrounding water in the rock matrix. The OF infrastructure includes software to track the progress of the workflow throughout the history of computation around the loop, including the versioning (i.e., keeping track of, accounting for, and/or recording changes) over time of the various data and results.
Anderson's computational operating framework (OF) allows for the seamless and rapid feedback between and among the many and varied software applications and data streams that are required for modern reservoir management. This computational operating framework is missing from prior art e-field and smart-field controllers.
Anderson et al. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/349,711 provides systems and methods for computer-aided lean management (CALM) of enterprises. A stochastic controller system is used to optimize decision making over time. A unified reinforcement learning algorithm is implemented to treat multiple interconnected operational levels of enterprise processes in a unified manner. A forward model of the enterprise processes is used to train the unified reinforcement learning algorithm to generate optimal actions over time.
The stochastic controller system can be configured to carry out remote sub-sea decisions in real time, affecting the form and timing of gas, oil, and water production in ultra deepwater. An integrated reservoir asset and production model is developed. The model may include production constraints based, for example, on skin damage and water coning in wells. The stochastic controller is trained to generate flexible production/injection schedules that honor production constraints and produce exemplary field production shapes. The flexible production/injection schedules can be optimized on the basis of total economic value increase (real option value+NPV) by the controller.
Reservoir evaluation and characterization generically (including but not limited to that using seismic, non-seismic, and hybrid data analysis) will be referred to herein as “SeisRes OF.” Further, seismic/reservoir modeling integration of CALM software will be referred to herein as “4D SeisRes,” or “4D Seismic Reservoir Management.”
Consideration is now being given to an implementation of a CALM controller system for 4D Seismic Reservoir Management, which is focused on the need to maximize profitability of the whole enterprise through all times and under all uncertainties. A desirable CALM controller will integrate observed 4D seismic differences with a continuously running reservoir simulator to understand the production pathways of fluid withdrawal in each field.